CITIZENS

36 October April/May 2015 2011
Gardening
Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today
www.KCWToday.co.uk
The Chelsea
Physic Garden
gets a handle on
the Handlebards
By Max Feldman
Whilst Hamlet might open
with two frightened sentries
shivering on Elsinore’s
battlements in the dead of night, the
Handlebards’ sold-out production took
place during a glorious blazing hot
September 12th in the idyllic confines
of the Chelsea Physic Garden. Far from
interfering with the atmosphere however,
the Indian summer of the day, combined
with the picnic-ready atmosphere of the
Physic Garden, twinned perfectly with
the Handlebards’ efforts to twist one of
Shakespeare’s most cerebral tragedies
into a feel-good slapstick comedy.
Since the Physic Garden’s
establishment in 1673 (then referred
to as the more ‘Prog-Rock’ sounding
Apothecaries’ Garden) it has attracted
Londoners looking for peace and quiet
amongst the plants, but thankfully the
garden’s denizens were more than happy
to intrude upon that calm with some
hearty belly-laughs. The Handlebards’
are an all-male four strong troupe
of actors who are biking 1,500 miles
performing Hamlet and A Midsummer’s
Night’s Dream across England, bringing
all the props and sets that they can
carry on their backs. As a result of the
incredibly small cast and the natural
limitations of the props, necessity is
decidedly the mother of invention.
Whilst Calum Hughes-McIntosh
capably played the lead role as the
notoriously indecisive royal, the decision
to have the remaining three actors
(Callum Brodie, Matthew Seager and
Tom Dixon) play all of the remaining
roles with quick ‘costume’ change (think
quickly slapping on a fake moustache,
before immediately ripping it and
replacing it with a hat for the next
character) provides plenty of the comedy
by itself.
Whether it was a tiny thundery
cloud on a string literally hovering
over Hamlet’s head or a ‘Ghost’ that
comprised exclusively of a sieve holding
up a white sheet, the ‘Shakespeare on
a shoestring’ approach was worth its
weight in comedy gold. The cast’s good
natured performance and eagerness to
involve the audience belied the level of
skill it takes to perform any Shakespeare
with only four cast members. The whole
afternoon had a festival atmosphere
(fuelled in part perhaps by the generous
gin and tonics available from the
Garden’s Tangerine Dream cafe) with
the central green overwhelmed with
a patchwork of picnic blankets as the
Garden’s residents luxuriated in the
sun and greenery. Activities like this
The Handlebards are an all-male four strong troupe of
actors who are biking 1,500 miles performing Hamlet and
A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream across England
production of Hamlet are an opportunity
to see a completely different side of
The Physic Garden, with the burst of
greenery at the heart of the borough
proving itself to be an unexpectedly
fantastic stage for events of all kinds.
Whilst recharging in the Garden’s
relaxing environs is not to be set aside,
it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their
events calendar to see what’s coming up
in the future. Whilst the Handlebards
have packed up and cycled off, they are
scheduled to return to the garden next
year and the Physic Garden will be
providing plenty to keep you entertained
until they return.
The Chelsea Physic Garden
66 Royal Hospital Rd, London
SW3 4HS
020 7352 5646
www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
The Physic
Garden in
Autumn
By Nick Bailey
As autumn sweeps across the borough
bejewelling otherwise over-looked trees
with crimson, amber and gold leaves the
Physic Garden’s unique microclimate
comes into its own. True, the garden
has its share of autumn glory with the
columnar Liquidambar flushing red
and the Turkish oak turning a grassfed
butter yellow, but it’s the flowers
that make the Physic Garden unique in
autumn. Thanks to the heat island effect
of the city, coupled with river thermals
and the Garden’s walls we have one
of the longest growing seasons in the
country. This means that certain plants,
which require months of sun and heat
in order to muster their first tentative
flower, thrive here. Mexican Salvias
are a case in point. Salvia longistyla,
which is rarely grown anywhere in the
UK, laps up the long season. It grows
up from ground-level each year
taking every ounce of heat twixt
April and late October to finally
produce glorious rich red flowers
aloft its 3m stems. It’s worth the
wait.
Elsewhere, in a cosy corner
of the Garden, lurks an unusual
Acanthus. It hails from Ethiopia
and positively demands month
after month of heat and light
before it will even consider
popping a bud. For this reason,
like the Salvia, it’s grown virtually
nowhere else. When it finally
decides to bloom, following 9
months of growth, it proves itself
worth the wait. Like the more
common Acanthus mollis, whose
distinctive leaf shape can be found
carved into Roman buildings,
Acanthus sennii has whorled spikes
of flowers and glossy leaves.
Unlike its common cousin its
leaves are viciously spined and
instead of white flowers it is resplendent
in glossy, ribbed, peachy-orange blooms.
With a potential cold snap only
weeks away the team are beginning
preparations for protecting the most
tender plants. The Physic Garden might
boast the largest outdoor olive tree and
grapefruit in the country but we are not
totally immune to the cold. Some of
the boundary-pushing plants we try do
need wrapping up for winter. This year
we have introduced a Jacaranda to the
garden. It’s a South American native but
most famous as the street tree of choice
in South Africa and Australia where it
flushes each spring with an explosion of
lilac blooms, so prolific that the whole
tree becomes a purple haze. In theory
it won’t grow in London, but then they
said that about our Olive tree 100 years
ago...
Nick Bailey is head gardener
at the Chelsea Physic Garden
A Lasting Gift
Leave your legacy to support our
future for generations to come...
Pick up a leaflet on your next visit, call 020 7349 6469
or email legacy@chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
Photograph © Nick Bailey
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